Mass General - Division of Clinical Research

Current methods of measuring the response to new treatments for muscular dystrophies involve the examination of small pieces of muscle tissue called biopsies. The investigators are interested in finding less invasive methods that reduce the need for muscle biopsies. The purpose of this research is to learn about the possibility of detecting and measuring the activity and severity of muscular dystrophies by examining a urine sample and a blood sample.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Dec 2020

open study

Current methods of measuring the response to new treatments for muscular dystrophies involve the examination of small pieces of muscle tissue called biopsies. The investigators are interested in finding less invasive methods that reduce the need for muscle biopsies. The purpose of this research is to learn about the possibility of detecting and measuring the activity and severity of muscular dystrophies by examining a urine sample and a blood sample.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Nov 2019

open study

Machine perfusion technology is nearing the point of rescuing discarded liver grafts in the hope of proving them to be or improving them to the point of being transplantable. However, there are no validated metrics to determine transplantability after machine perfusion. This study involves collecting biopsies from transplanted livers before and after implantation to correlate metabolite and gene expression with post-transplant function. This data will help develop a viability index for machine perfused livers.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Oct 2018

open study

Continuation of the CARRA Registry as described in the protocol will support data collection on patients with pediatric-onset rheumatic diseases. The CARRA Registry will form the basis for future CARRA studies. In particular, this observational registry will be used to answer pressing questions about therapeutics used to treat pediatric rheumatic diseases, including safety questions.

Type: Observational [Patient Registry]

Start Date: Jul 2015

open study

The primary objective of this study is to enroll an observational cohort of approximately 60 patients with PSP over the course of 24 months using a multicenter study design and to follow each of them for 12 months. The secondary objective of this study is to develop a robust solution for multi-modal remote monitoring of motor symptoms and function in PSP that can be applied to other Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) syndromes.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Jul 2023

open study

The AIM HIGHer Clinical Trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of Cardiac Contractility Modulation (CCM) therapy in patients with heart failure with LVEF ≥40% and ≤60%.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2022

open study

This is a phase I, clinical research study of EPI-7386, an investigational drug being studied as a treatment for patients with prostate cancer. All patients in the study will receive EPI-7386. Since this is the first study of EPI-7386 in humans, there is no information about how it affects people or what dose should be used. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to assess the safety (side effects) of EPI-7386 and to find a dose that can be given without unacceptable side effects. There are other important things that will be evaluated during the study: - How the amount of EPI-7386 in the blood changes over time. - The effect of EPI-7386 on prostate cancer. - The effect of EPI-7386 on certain substances in the body. - The possibility that EPI-7386 can interact with other drugs. The study will be conducted in 2 parts: - Part A: To evaluate the safety and tolerability of EPI-7386 as a single agent via 2 Phases: - Phase 1a: Dose Escalation (mCRPC) - Phase 1b: Dose Expansion (mCRPC) - Part B: To evaluate 2 parallel enrolling cohorts (Cohort 1 and Cohort 2) of EPI-7386 in combination of apalutamide acetate + prednisone (AAP) or apalutamide (APA): - Cohort 1: Combination with AAP in mHSPC or mCRPC patients - Cohort 2: Will evaluate the anti-tumor activity of EPI-7386 for a limited window of time (12 weeks EPI-7386 monotherapy prior to the start of combination therapy with APA) in nmCRPC patients unperturbed by previous 2nd generation anti-androgen therapies or chemotheraphy.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2020

open study

This is a sub-study of NIDA CTN Protocol 0080: Medication Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder in Expectant Mothers (MOMs; Unique protocol ID: 2019-0429-1). Caretakers of the infants delivered by MOMs participants will be offered the opportunity to enroll in this sub-study, which is designed to evaluate the impact of extended-release buprenorphine (BUP-XR), relative to sublingual buprenorphine (BUP-SL), on infant neurodevelopment. The additional data collected in this sub-study will be combined with data from the main MOMs trial.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2021

open study

The objective of the study is to serve as a correlative study for patients enrolled on the RadCOMP trial (NCT02603341), a randomized phase III study of stage II and III breast cancer patients treated with either conventional photon radiation or proton beam radiation

Type: Observational

Start Date: Oct 2017

open study

The goal of this clinical trial is to determine the impact of a parental support package for new trainee mothers which focuses on mentorship, lactation, and sleep, and access to perinatal care. The main questions it aims to answer are whether this set of interventions will improve trainee wellbeing and decrease medical error. Participants will be randomized to intervention and control groups. The intervention group will receive: 1. A Snoo smart sleep bassinet 2. A Willow wearable breast pump 3. Access to Maven Clinic for 24/7 on-demand perinatal care 4. A faculty mentor in their own department The control group will receive the standard support currently offered by training programs. All participants will wear a Fitbit to track sleep and will take a series of surveys querying pregnancy, birth, and postpartum experiences; wellbeing; and professional satisfaction. Researchers will compare intervention and control groups to see if the intervention group has: 1. decreased rates of burnout 2. increased professional fulfillment 3. decreased thoughts of leaving the profession 4. increased perception of organizational and personal value alignment 5. increased sleep 6. decreased risk of medical errors 7. increased personal fulfillment of breastfeeding goals 8. decreased risk of postpartum depression

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2023

open study

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is common and has major health implications but treatment options are limited. In previous research atomoxetine and oxybutynin showed promising effect at reducing OSA severity, however they reduced arousal threshold, one of the key traits responsible for OSA. Since oxybutynin was used mainly as a hypnotic, but it is burdened by several anti-cholinergic side effects, DAW2020, a hypnotic which prolonged the total sleep time in a previous trial in OSA patients, could be a better candidate to associate with atomoxetine.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2022

open study

Objective: Wearable technology holds promising potential for mental health monitoring and detection. Samsung has developed an algorithm that they believe can detect signs of depression and anxiety in smartwatch users. They have used this algorithm to create a "Mindfulness Index," which is an easily understood visual index of mental health. The primary aim of the study is to evaluate the performance of Samsung's Mindfulness Index in identifying those who have received a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) from a clinician-administered semi-structured diagnostic interview. Research Procedures: The target sample size is 75 individuals diagnosed with current Major Depressive Disorder and 75 healthy controls. To meet this target, the recruitment target is set at 215 participants. Participants will be assigned to the MDD condition, or the healthy control condition based on their score on the Beck Depression Inventory. Each subject will be followed for 3 months. Participants will be provided with a Samsung smartphone and Samsung smartwatch. Participants will be asked to wear the smartwatch 24 hours per day, except while charging. This smartwatch will collect data on heartrate, sleep time, and step count. During the study, each day participants will receive texts prompting a link to a "daily diary." These surveys will ask about depression and anxiety symptoms. Additionally, during the first 3 weeks of the study, participants will participate in ecological momentary assessment; texts will be sent 5 times per day prompting participants to fill out a survey about how they currently feel in that moment. These extra surveys will stop after the first 3 weeks of the study, but the daily diary surveys will continue throughout the study. Furthermore, virtual clinician visits will occur at weeks 4, 8, and 12.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Mar 2023

open study

PoNS therapy is a rehabilitation program that uses the PoNS device in conjunction with individualized physical exercise. This is an outcome research open label observational interventional multi-center study investigating the relationship between subject's adherence to PoNS therapy and therapeutic outcomes.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Jul 2022

open study

Hypertrophic Burn Scars (HTBS) are often treated with Fractional CO2 laser therapy to improve cosmetic appearance. It has been noted that this leads to a reduction in the pain and itch associated with this type of scars. While this phenomenon is commonly described in the literature, the mechanism of pain and itch reduction in unclear. The investigators aim to better understand this process by histological evaluation of HTBS at different stages of laser treatment.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2020

open study

This is a Phase 3 randomized double-blind study of abemaciclib versus placebo. Patients with progression of disease will cross over to open label abemaciclib.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Nov 2021

open study

In previous studies, Proton Beam Radiation Therapy (PBRT) has been found to show better results in treating patients with cancer, both because there is better control of where in the body the radiation is directed and because it is associated with less severe long term side effects. However, there is limited published data demonstrating these results. The goal of the Proton and Photon Consortium Registry (PPCR) is to enroll children treated with radiation in order to describe the population that currently receives radiation and better compare the short-term and long-term benefits of different types of radiotherapy. The data collected from this study will help facilitate research on radiation therapy and allow for collaborative research. The PPCR will collect demographic and clinical data that many centers that deliver radiation therapy already collect in routine operations.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Jul 2012

open study

In this study, the investigators will examine the analgesic effects of acupuncture imagery treatment in patients with chronic low back pain. The intervention used in this study is "video-guided acupuncture imagery treatment" (VGAIT) treatment. The control used in this study is sham (fake) VGAIT. Participants in each group will participate in 8 study sessions (including 6 treatment sessions) over the course of 6 weeks. The primary outcome measure for this study is change in low back pain severity score after each treatment session.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2019

open study

The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a brief psychoeducational intervention to improve quality of life in patients with lung cancer who are transitioning from active treatment to surveillance.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2021

open study

In this research study, is studying how Liposomal Irinotecan in combination with the standard of care interventions FOLFOX, carboplatin paclitaxel, and radiation therapy affect gastroesophageal junction or esophagogastric cancer This research study involves the following study intervention: - Liposomal irinotecan

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2021

open study

A prospective, non blinded, single arm, multicenter study designed to assess the safety and effectiveness of the bioprosthetic, VenoValve, which is surgically implanted into the deep venous system for treatment of patients with deep venous valvular insufficiency ( C4b-C6 patients).

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2021

open study

This study aims is to evaluate the effect of opioid free total intravenous anesthesia on postoperative quality of recovery in patients undergoing oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMF) temporomandibular joint (TMJ) surgery.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2021

open study

The purpose of the HALT Biomarkers study are to identify a panel of circulating proteins that discriminates between patients with and without Hypo-Attenuated Leaflet Thickening (HALT) and can be used to supplement the diagnosis of HALT; to characterize changes in circulating proteins after treatment of HALT with systemic anticoagulation; and to identify circulating proteins that predict the occurrence of HALT. The study population will be adult patients undergoing transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for severe aortic stenosis (AS) or bioprosthetic valve degeneration. Enrollment will continue until 30 patients with HALT are identified for completion of phase 1. Based on a HALT incidence rate of 10%, we anticipate enrolling 300 patients. Patients are enrolled prior to undergoing transfemoral TAVR. Blood samples, clinical data and echocardiograms will be collected at the following timepoints: baseline (pre-TAVR, T0), post-TAVR (pre-discharge, T1), 30-day follow-up (window 3-9 weeks, T2), and 6-month follow-up (T3). Cardiac 4D CT will be performed at the 30-day follow-up visit to screen for the occurrence of HALT. Patients with HALT will be treated with systemic anticoagulation for 5-6 months, at which point a follow-up CT scan and blood sample will be obtained. Control subjects will also undergo a 6-month study visit with blood sample collection. The study will be conducted within two phases. Phase 1 will serve as a derivation / discovery study in which candidate protein biomarkers of HALT will be identified. Once this is successfully completed, a second cohort will be enrolled within phase 2. Phase 2 will be performed under the auspices a future contract or amendment and will seek to cross-validate the initial study findings.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2020

open study

The overall goal of the DISCOVERY study is to better understand what factors contribute to changes in cognitive (i.e., thinking and memory) abilities in patients who experienced a stroke. The purpose of the study is to help doctors identify patients at risk for dementia (decline in memory, thinking and other mental abilities that significantly affects daily functioning) after their stroke so that future treatments may be developed to improve outcomes in stroke patients. For this study, a "stroke" is defined as either (1) an acute ischemic stroke (AIS, or blood clot in the brain), (2) an intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH, or bleeding in the brain), (3) or an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH, or bleeding around the brain caused by an abnormal bulge in a blood vessel that bursts). The investigators hypothesize that: 1. The size, type and location of the stroke play an important role in recovery of thinking and memory abilities after stroke, and pre-existing indicators of brain health further determine the extent of this recovery. 2. Specific stroke events occurring in individuals with underlying genetic or biological risk factors can cause further declines in brain heath, leading to changes in thinking and memory abilities after stroke. 3. Studying thinking and memory alongside brain imaging and blood samples in patients who have had a stroke allows for earlier identification of declining brain health and development of individualized treatment plans to improve patient outcomes in the future.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Mar 2021

open study

This research study is evaluating a therapy called proton beam radiation therapy (PBRT) as a possible treatment for neuroblastoma. Neuroblastoma most commonly occurs in and around the adrenal glands, which are located at the top of the kidneys. However, it can also occur in other areas where groups of nerve cells exist, such as other areas of the abdomen, neck and near the spine. Conventional radiation therapy with photons is used as standard treatment for many patients with neuroblastic tumors. In this research study, the investigators are looking at another type of radiation called proton radiation which is known to spare surrounding tissues and organs from unnecessary radiation. Proton radiation delivers radiation to the area requiring radiation. This may reduce side effects that patients would normally experience with standard radiation therapy or other means of delivering proton radiation therapy. In this research study, the investigators are evaluating the effectiveness of using proton radiation delivered to reduce side effects associated with radiation treatment. The investigators will also be assessing the late side effects experienced by participants in each treatment group.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2014

open study

Although over 200,000 individuals with DS live in the United States, studies to date have focused on outcomes apart from health. The foundation for this proposal is based on the need to accurately measure health of all individuals - specifically, with DS - and the dearth of available tools for this population. Creating such an instrument will provide a barometer of the current state of health for DS and hold use in future research. In this project, I propose to create an instrument that directly assesses health in DS - the Down syndrome Health Instrument (DHI). More specifically, the aims of this proposal are: 1. To conduct focus groups among caregivers, individuals with DS, panels of experts on DS and primary care physicians, and cognitive interviews to refine a conceptual model of health for DS and create an item pool, 2. To administer the DHI and establish internal validity, reliability, and external validity of the DHI for use in clinical research, and 3. To test the usability of the DHI in two pilot settings: research and clinical. This instrument will measure patient-reported health in DS for the first time and allow measurement of health as an outcome which is not currently possible in this population. This can identify gaps in care, then direct and optimize interventions that will improve care.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Apr 2020

open study